


The Sky is Falling In

by orphan_account



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alien Shiro, Aliens, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Amputation, Character Death, Dark, Fluff and Angst, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Recreational Drug Use, Romance, Sad, Smoking, Someone Fucks the Alien, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-29
Updated: 2016-10-31
Packaged: 2018-08-27 16:17:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8408317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Five in the morning is when reality isn't all there. No one expects their life to change in a dark alley for better or worse. Glowing eyes and neon veins refuse to tell the truth of another world, but one stubborn boy isn't about to let it die. When one's nose is deep enough into the shit storm that the universe consists of, he finds himself on a strange path of love, redemption, betrayal and trust.





	1. In the Dark

Keith had done this a thousand times. 

His shift ended at five, and his coworker took over for him with a dry exchange of pleasantries before Keith hit the pavement. A smoke was instantly tucked between his lips, his lighter coming to life with a blaze of sparks before being snuffed all too soon. Keith didn't like walking in silence, though. An earbud found itself tucked inside of his ear, soon emitting the pitch of Radiohead against his drum as he took the moment to unwind. 

It wasn't like his job was hard. Living in a small town in Nevada next to the highway that was used as common route to Las Vegas, he'd landed himself a pretty cushy job as a hotel receptionist. Considering his imsonia and the fact he'd never bothered to treat himself for it, the night shift was a perfect fit for him. 

One nice thing about living in such a small, crapshoot town was the fact nothing happened here. At all. Keith could have been walking down the road naked and no one would have blinked an eye. It was a town full of mostly old people with their heads up their asses, and all the younger adults either just left or congregated together just for an escape out in the desert. Maybe that was why his phone was suddenly vibrating against his ass, dragging an irritated sigh from between Keith's gritted teeth as he snuffed his cigarette. 

"What, Lance." 

"Hey-whoa, hey, rough night?" the other voice asked, pitched and yelling over what seemed to be some kind of music in the background. Probably at some party. 

"I can already tell you I'm not in the mood," Keith sighed, rolling his eyes as he came to a stop. "It's already five, Lance. At this point, what? Twenty after? By the time I get there, I'm gonna get a beer down before you're gone, and I'm holding the hair of some bitch you shoved off on me while you and Hunk go have your fun in the car." 

He could hear Lance scoffing indignantly, and Keith crossed his arms, waiting patiently for a coherent answer that wasn't a string of what he assumed to be muttered insults. 

"Okay, _first of all,_ Hunk isn't here. Remember he's out visiting family for the week? Secondly, there's not even anyone interesting here. It's just boring, man. I could actually use your company for once." Lance's voice went soft, and Keith almost felt bad. Almost. 

"If you just want to come to my place, you know I have better stuff there," Keith pointed out, quirking an eyebrow as he stared off into the distance. "Just keep in mind if we smoke anything, I'm probably going to pass out for once. Because yes, rough night." He sighed irritably, reaching up to rub at his forehead. At least Lance wasn't another huffy, indignant customer.

"Oh, geez...yeah, man. You don't really have to come. If you just want your night to yourself, too, I'll swing by tomorrow or something." He could hear Lance sigh too, and could imagine the guy rubbing at the side of his face as he thought about something. "Still up for burgers on Sunday? Pidge and Hunk said they'd be willing to come to that, at least." 

"As long as it's that shitty place on the corner of Main, my heart's all yours, buddy." Keith allowed his expression to relax, a hand on his hip as he kicked up the dust on the sidewalk. "And as long as we don't go out to the bar right after to get shitfaced again and ruin the whole night." Keith was at least decent holding his liquor. Lance, on the other hand, was not. 

"All right! Okay. I don't think Hunk will be in the mood for it, anyway. We all know how he gets around planes. Or well, at least I do." Keith snorted, bringing the phone back to check the time. About thirty-five after. 

"I'll talk to you later, Lance," he said, readjusting his jacket around his shoulders. "Maybe tomorrow. Don't happen to die on me over there, buddy." 

"Yeah, sure. Same to you. Don't be getting hit by any wild cars going off the road before I have a chance to kick your ass for bailing out on me." He heard Lance snickering before he hung up, leaving Keith alone once again. He shook his head, shoving the damn phone back into his pocket before he resumed walking. 

Despite the long night, Keith didn't find the motivation in himself to go back home. He _could_ have gone to that party, but the temperature was mild, just chilly enough for his jacket yet pleasant for walking. The stars twinkled above him with a certain scrutiny, showing him the entirety of the universe and still refusing to reveal their secrets to him. Maybe one day when he'd saved up enough money to leave this town he'd learn them. But for the moment, he was stuck where he was, wandering the back streets of quiet neighborhoods, away from street lights and into the peaceful dark, away from prying lips and gazes that made him want to claw out of his skin. 

Keith let his guard down. There wasn't much to look at in the distance, he wasn't being followed. The desert sprawled out in all directions, eventually swallowed up by a darkness not entirely contaminated by the light pollution. It gave Keith a chance to listen to his shitty music and cast his gaze upwards, his eyes tracing the constellations in the oncoming winter skies. He lit up another cigarette, taking a deep drag and feeling the chemicals soothe his nerves. 

Standing there on the street corner with nothing more than the billowing smoke and the wind made him feel alive. He may have smelled like he needed a shower and that he had a planned trip to the laundromat, and he may have felt like death on more than one occasion, but at least he still had it in him to feel like this. He could hear Pidge chastising him, smacking the cigarette out of his hand while he just stared blindly at her, but luckily for them both, she wasn't there at the moment. Something to do with her own family, or whatever. No wonder Lance had been lonely and called him. 

Keith didn't know how long he'd been standing there. It was easy to get lost in the vastness of it all, staring at the horizon as idle thoughts buzzed through his head. What was he having for dinner tomorrow? Was tomorrow a day off? Did he need to buy toothpaste? Is that the fucking sun?

...Okay, maybe it wasn't the sun already. Somehow just the headlights of a noisy truck rumbling past him fucked with his vision. With that cue, it was time for Keith to go home. He dropped his cigarette butt to the pavement, grinding it down against the pebbles before he turned down the alleyway that marked his shortcut. It was about the only place in town that gave him the creeps, being sandwiched between two buildings that dealt heavily in butchering. One was an actual butcher shop, while the other...well, Keith didn't know what they did. Keith didn't want to know. It smelled like death, though, and the dripping of the water from drainage pipes and the wet sloshing of his boots in puddles filled with god only knew what just made him all the more eager to hurry out of there. 

He hugged his bag closer to himself, keeping his gaze straight and pointed to the end of the alley. The neon sign of the strip club past the exit flashed its eerie purple and greens across the asphalt, and he hurried towards it, always happy to bathe in the relief it gave him from enduring another trip down this path. 

Halfway down the narrow stretch Keith stopped in his tracks. 

He didn't know how he hadn't managed to notice it upon entering the alley, but something played at the edge of his vision, a shadow dancing across the edge of his mind. He almost passed it off as just a cat, or something. Maybe it was a really large bug that he'd like to get away from. Something was off, though, and nothing seemed...there, for a split second. Like something rippled, a soft whisper promising to show Keith something more than just the trash and pallets in that alley.

Keith turned around, shoulders squared as he looked at the crumbling brick walls. Seeing as the space was empty, he could only figure he'd been seeing things. He hadn't slept in over twenty-four hours. A feat he'd pulled before, but there was always a first time for something going awry. Keith shook his head, brushing his bangs away from his forehead to make sure he wasn't running a fever. The last thing he needed was to come down with some sort of waking nightmare full of hallucinations in this damn alley. It was horror movie material enough as it was. As if to mock him, Keith could have sworn he saw intestines hanging over the edge of a dumpster. Weren't there special procedures for getting rid of that shit in a sanitary manner? 

He digressed. He turned back around, but he hadn't even made it another step before he saw something again. Just a quick flicker of something in the shadows before it was gone completely again. Now Keith was getting a little pissed. 

"I don't know who you are, or how you're managing to hide yourself so well," he growled, balling his hand into a fist at his side, "but if you try to come after me, I will fuck you up. All right?"

Silence. 

Keith took a deep breath, spinning on his heels to make his way down the pathway once again. He'd barely made it two feet before something very _obviously_ slithered behind a dumpster. Keith dropped his bag, wringing his knife from it before it hit the ground. Wouldn't be the best option if he was about to get shot up, but it would just have to do for the moment. Besides, nothing ever happened in this town. Crime was practically nonexistent...

His heart still hammered as he looked behind the dumpster, leaning forward with an eternity spanning across the time it took him to get a proper look at things. Again, he saw nothing. He clenched his jaw, looking behind himself, making sure the alley was empty except for him. Again, nothing moved but the breeze. He thought he heard a cat somewhere, but a cat wasn't the cause of whatever this was. Keith still wasn't sure if he was hallucinating, though. 

He steeled himself, shoulders tensed as he walked forward. He had half a mind to stuff his knife back into its hilt before he did so, a decision he was immensely grateful for being made once he suddenly felt himself on the concrete. 

"What the fu-" 

The words choked in his throat as he suddenly felt something _touch_ him. He yanked himself away from whatever it was, his chest heaving and eyes wild before he bumped into something else. His back collided with something warm, something very unlike the cool, hard surface of a grimy dumpster. No, what he pressed up against felt vaguely human, if it wasn't for the sheer size of it. Keith could feel it wrap around himself, and he uttered a scream, his hands fumbling for his knife that had clattered away into the night. 

God, what the fuck. What the _fuck._ Keith admitted to being a superstitious man, but he'd never, ever thought his death would come in the warm embrace of something invisible, and probably made up in some fucked up part of his mind. Keith's heart rate was through the roof, his chest was heaving, and he struggled as hard as he could to get out so he could _run._

_"Don't be afraid. Please."_

Keith had managed to wrangle free, but...but what _was_ that? He looked around himself wildly, patting his torso down to make sure he wasn't bleeding or anything else weird. He was already apparently hearing voices. 

_"Please, don't be-"_

"Who's out there?" Keith yelled, balling his hands into fists and taking on a more offensive stance. "If you don't show yourself, I swear to god!" He was spinning wildly in place, his eyes darting from something moving behind the dumpster to a shadow in the distance. His eyes didn't quite lock onto anything, no matter how hard he strained to see something. He knew something was there, but where _was it?_

He spun to face the dumpster again, but he was met with a wildly different image. A blaze of white streaked through the night itself, two deep, glowing, purple eyes on either side of it. They were so close to his own, enough to obscure his vision of the other end of the alley and effectively, make him scream again. Whatever _that thing_ was reached out and clamped something warm over his face, leaving just enough room for him to still see. Keith desperately attempted to suck in air as he was essentially suffocated, those eyes boring into his own with a hidden intent he couldn't quite read. 

_"Please, just be quiet. The more noise you make, the bigger risk we have of them finding me. I'm not your enemy, here."_

Keith swallowed hard, unable to tear his gaze away from what was obviously a face coming into view. It was long and pointed, and the closest comparison Keith could give it at the moment was a wolf's face. It was more feline in nature, especially with almond shaped eyes adorning the sides of its sleek head that led up into graceful, pointed ears. He couldn't see any pupils past that harsh glow, though. They almost hurt to look at. 

After a moment, he felt himself finally fall to the ground again, coughing and spluttering as he fell to his knees. "What the fuck," he managed to mutter again, reaching up to rub at his mouth with the back of his hand. His face felt weird. His neck hurt. He hadn't even realized he'd been held up by the fucking jaw. This was wild, and this was definitely an hallucination. He made to stand up again, looking warily up at his...his _assailant_ before he floored himself again. 

Whatever the hell this thing was, it was fucking _massive._ Keith could only guess it was standing on legs. At the very least, it towered at least another three, four, five feet over himself, and he wasn't exactly a short guy. Not quite six feet, but close enough...this thing had to be around eight, at the very least. Keith could feel himself start trembling the more he looked at it. 

It kept the feline features, from its face down its body and to its hind legs. Its skin was as black as the sky, void as the space between the stars, its veins where the skin grew thin glowing the same purple as its eyes. Its right arm seemed to glint in the scarce lighting, giving away the fact it was made from something else other than its skin. It was hard to make out in the dark. Even harder to concentrate on much else when Keith was staring something down that, if this were any other situation, he'd argue until he was blue in the face he'd found an alien. At the moment, the most he could manage to do was just stare into those eyes, feeling himself get lost in their depths. 

_"You don't have to be afraid."_ It tilted its head, crouching low to the ground in front of Keith. He noticed a tail behind it, sliding out against the ground several feet. Again, it didn't make any real action to give away the fact it was talking. It was just words in Keith's head, further cementing the idea that he was just going crazy. Had he gone longer without sleep and just didn't realize it?

A softer, gentler touch to the side of his face jerked him back into reality. Whatever this...this creature was, it was stroking his cheek with a sharp claw that glinted in the moonlight. _"I know I scare you, and that's okay. I didn't intend for you to find me. I was hiding, but you...you kept noticing my presence. I was drawn to you. I'm sorry I scared you, though."_

Keith shook his head, turning away from the creature's hand. It felt weird where it touched him. "What are you?" he asked, scooting back towards his bag. It was immediately lifted into his lap once his hand bumped against it, his expression accusatory as it never left those purple eyes.

Keith could see something on the creature's face, working at an answer Keith wasn't exactly sure he would get. A moment of silence passed between them before the creature started moving again, its movements slow and cautious. It reached out for Keith's head, wide hands, or paws, or whatever the hell they were, careful as they took him in hand. Keith wanted to freak out and thrash and squirm away and run out into the street, but something stopped him.

There was a sincerity in the creature's eyes that he could see, and it almost felt like a song was filling him from the inside. A warmth bloomed forth from his very core, rising up to meet the hands of the creature where they rested against his cheeks and neck. Keith could feel his muscles relaxing as he listened to that soothing sound, his head swirling with the myriad images of stars. At first he thought he was imagining things, but the ideas in his head were as clear as day. The images of swirling galaxies, painted bright red and angrily lashed out against the sky, their orange hues a stark contrast to the rest of the nebula. Stars burst before his eyes, planets shaded with a blue he couldn't describe passed along in an endless expanse of dimmed suns, and galaxies collided with a force unimaginable. 

Keith found himself settling on one planet in particular, larger than Earth and not at all similar to his home. Keith didn't quite understand what he was looking at, from the technology one would only see in cheesy Sci-Fi movies to the beings that were similar to the one in front of him, and yet not, at the same time. Some were fluffier, and some looked like they were more reptilian in nature. One in particular seemed to stick out, much larger than even the creature before him. Keith stared into the purple eyes before him, watching as the reptilian _alien_ seemed to be communicating. With what, and how, he didn't know, but the moment a low, vicious snarl could be heard coming from the creature's maw, the images stopped. 

Keith gasped sharply, his head swimming as it suddenly felt empty. Nausea hit him like a bus, and he had to scoot away as he burped once, twice, and spun around to empty the contents of his stomach. He could hear a soft noise come from the creature, could feel its hand on his back as he threw up, but he didn't have the strength to push it away. Not when its touch seemed to make him feel better. Like it was easing away at the tensions of his brain, or...or something. 

_"I can explain more elsewhere,"_ Keith heard, the thought soft and distant in his head, like the creature was whispering. It almost sounded apologetic, like it genuinely wanted Keith to understand. _"Do you have somewhere safe to go, where I can follow...?"_

Keith rubbed at his mouth, panting softly as he turned to look at the creature over his shoulder. Its ears were leaned back against its head, and at this angle, he could see a wide, gaping scar stretched horizontally over its snout. Keith noticed it was trembling just as much as he was. He looked down at the ground, considering his options. He could leave the creature to fend for itself in this creepy alley, scrounging for food, or whatever it wanted. He could leave it alone, without even trying to help give it a fighting chance in their world...or he could agree to take it back home. His apartment was tiny, and he was sure there would be some accommodation issues, but they could work it out. Right? 

Either way, this was fucking crazy. If anything, Keith finally nodded just for the sheer excuse to wake up tomorrow and see if this had been real or not. 

The creature visibly perked up, tilting its head to the side with a gleam in its eyes. _"I'll follow behind you."_


	2. Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aah, after this update I don't know how frequent the next ones will be! I'm gonna try to stay on top of a once a week update, though. For everyone's kind words and interest in this so far, thank you so much! I hope you'll like the upcoming chapters for as self indulgent as they are. <3

Keith's pace was brisk. Every so often he'd turn around to see if he was still being followed, and sure enough, he was met with large, purple eyes that seemingly hovered in the dark. Keith didn't think much of it, at first; he'd been slowly growing used to the thing's presence, but after about the fifth time of turning to look back at it, it was only then did he realize it was floating. _Floating._ Like some god damn monastery monk in novels about China back in the day, where meditation was key and you could open your third eye. Float while you meditated, all that good shit. Keith was in ignorant disbelief. 

"You're very strange, you know that?" he said after a moment of silence, his voice winded as he hurried down the streets back to his home. "And quiet. Too quiet. Don't get me wrong, I like a person who can shut up, but you..." He turned to look back at the creature again, noting a hint of amusement in those eyes again. At least it didn't seem to have a stick up its ass. 

_"I don't need to talk. Everything you want to tell me, I can see just fine."_

_That_ was just creepy. Keith didn't want to focus too much on the idea of his head space being invaded, but in the company of this thing, there was a certain...weight, he could feel in his mind. For as sleep deprived as it currently was at the moment, though, it was hard to focus on and think about. If anything, it was actually kind of comforting. If the thing really could read his mind, it meant he didn't have to strain his vocal cords and actually talk. 

"You gotta name? So I can call you something other than Thing?" he asked anyway, coming to a stop at another street corner. They were out in the open now, underneath the buzzing, flickering light of a decrepit lamp, the harsh yellow hue casting the creature in a visible glory all to its own. Its skin was hairless and mottled from scars, its limbs long and elegant and hanging in the air. Keith looked it over curiously, reaching out to lightly drag his fingertips along what he assumed was a shoulder blade. Luckily for him, the creature didn't pull away or get aggressive. In the end, it just made a noise akin to a purr. Keith noted the thing was very soft underneath his fingertips.

 _"I do have a name. Considering the difference in our speech, though, I doubt you'd be able to grasp the concept."_ It pulled its lips back into what Keith assumed was a smile, revealing dozens of very sharp, very shiny teeth in an incredible maw. Keith decided the creature was right, and that there was no use in bothering with it. Not yet, anyway.

"Funny guy," he mused, turning to look down the street. "I suppose I can nickname you later, or...something. Or maybe we can find out the equivalent in my language..." He furrowed his brow, looking back to the creature curiously. "How are you talking with me, anyway? For a difference in languages, you sure know how to speak mine rather well." 

_"You've already made the connection. I'm in your head. You're translating my intentions into your own words."_

Keith's expression warped into one of disgusted confusion. "If I asked politely, would you get out?" That was honestly so creepy, if it was an all the time thing. Keith could see worry on the face of the creature though, the way its eyes glimmered as it offered him a slow, hesitant nod. 

_"I would. It's easier for the both of us if we stay like this for a while, though. I can't exactly talk like you do."_

"Good point." Keith sighed in defeat, one foot out on the road before he caught sight of a familiar flash of blue down the road. His heart dropped into his stomach, and he looked behind himself while he waved a hand, motioning, _thinking_ out something for the creature to do. It was already gone by the time he'd turned around to check, though. Keith wanted to wonder where it had gone so quickly, but he let it go for the moment. He was just glad it could get away, for a very slurred, very drunken voice was calling out to Keith, causing the worry to pluck at his heart whether he wanted it to or not. 

"I told you not to kill yourself, idiot," Keith called out, walking up to Lance's truck with an exasperated look. He was met with a wave of Lance's hand, which seemed very keen on reaching out and pinching his cheek. 

"I'm fiiine! I only had a couple drinks near the end. I was on my way home until I saw you wandering 'round. What're you still doing out? Need a ride, buddy?" 

Keith slapped Lance's hand away, sighing in exasperation as he shook his head. "No, not with you like that. Do you want me to drive _you_ home?" He could feel a slight disturbance in his core as he said those words, something he automatically knew to be coming from his new friend. He was well aware of its presence, that it needed to be somewhere safe, but he couldn't just leave Lance to drive his own drunk ass home. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he just convinced the creature to climb into the back of the truck and hang out there. It'd only take them five minutes. 

"Ah, geez, buddy. Please? I usually have Hunk do this for me..." 

"I know, buddy." Keith reached out and patted Lance's cheek, once, twice, before giving it an admonishing slap. The man groaned as he scooted to the side, immediately resting his cheek against the passenger side window. Keith could hear a subtle scraping of claws against metal, and he was just relieved his friend was compliant for the moment.

Keith switched the gears over, awkwardly footing the clutch and ultimately making the truck jiggle out a dance underneath them. 

_"I don't like this,"_ Keith immediately heard in his head, the frantic, uncalled for panic rising in his chest. Lance didn't seem like he cared, instead just giggling to himself as he pulled his knees up to his chest, burying his face in them with a sigh. 

"Don't fall asleep on me," Keith muttered, reaching out to lightly smack Lance's arm. 

"I'm not, I'm not," he mumbled, sliding down the seat with a sigh. "Both hands on the wheel, though. Unless you're switching gears. My insurance ran out at the beginning of this month." Lance hiccuped, a defeated look on his face. "I forgot to pay them."

"Ah, well. I guess I'll just have to try super hard not to bump into the millions of people in front of us," Keith mused, digging around in his jacket for his smokes again. "Where did you even go, anyway?" He fumbled a bit with the pack, his last cigarette rolling around in the box before it finally complied and landed between his lips. Lance gave him a dissatisfied look, but he kept quiet about the billows of smoke filling the cab between them. 

"I don't even know. Just some random rich kid's house party in the nicer part of town. You know, where they actually manage to keep up green grass and flowers." Lance sighed, leaning his head back against the seat, his leg jiggling something fierce. "Tried to call Pidge and see if she wanted in on it, but I guess she's out, too. Her dad had some business meeting she'd decided to go along to. Anyway, it was just boring." 

Keith quirked a brow, huffing down his cigarette as he attempted to make a turn. He wasn't the best at driving stick, but with Lance being the kind of person he was, he'd gotten plenty of practice. Enough to get them turned down the right street without crashing, anyway. The discomfort in the back of his mind grew in intensity, and Keith tried his best to comfort it. He supposed it wasn't every day someone got to meet an alien and take them for a car ride. Poor thing was probably beside itself out there. 

Nonetheless, Keith was pulling into Lance's driveway with a relieved sigh. "You don't got anyone in there waiting for you, do you? If I have to sit here and watch someone yell at you while I imagine that look Hunk gets when he wants to kill himself, I don't think I can be friends with you anymore."

"Nah, just me and that body pillow I bought last week. Better than any person, and a great substitute Hunk. Thanks, man." Lance smiled over at Keith, his expression sincere. "I'll see you later, okay? Don't forget about burgers." 

Keith nodded, tossing Lance's keys over to him. "Remember to at least keep a bucket with you. You've already got that look in your eye." 

Lance just groaned again, waving a hand idly at Keith as he stumbled out of the car and towards his house. Keith waited and watched as the man somehow managed to fumble his way inside, letting the old, ratty screen door clang shut behind him. Keith saw a light turn on in the kitchen, but aside from that, all was quiet. Keith waited to move until he saw the light turn off, hoping that Lance had at least made it back to his bed instead of the living room floor. 

It took some time, but the light was soon out and he slid out of Lance's truck, making sure it was locked and the windows were up before he walked behind it, blindly reaching out to see if his friend was still there. His hand smacked against the side of a snout, and he hissed between his teeth as he muttered a few apologies. "Here, come on," he murmured, listening to the sounds of what he could only assume were the creature sliding off of the truck's bed. "My apartment is just down the road. Couple more minutes, okay?" 

The creature came back into view with a nod, keeping close to Keith's shoulder as he turned to walk down the road. The neighborhood he and Lance lived in was shitty, for lack of a better word. Lance's apartment looked like it came from the 60s, orange walls and oddly patterned carpets galore. Keith's apartment was a little better, and he popped the door open with a content sigh as he caught the scent of nicotine in the air. "Welcome to your new home," he said, walking past the threshold and stepping to the side. The creature followed warily behind him, ducking its head as it passed underneath a doorway that it was much too tall for. 

Keith tossed his bag to the floor, and he flopped onto his futon with a heavy sigh. "Here, come sit next to me," he said, patting the spot next to him with an expectant look aimed toward the alien. It was clearly out of its element, here. The ceiling didn't allow it to stand up straight, and it didn't help his apartment was already tiny to begin with. Consisting of one room and a half bathroom, there wasn't much room to play in, let alone stand in if you were a giant, eight foot noodle cat...thing. Keith actually felt bad. Mostly because of the mess of clothes and empty takeout boxes scattered everywhere.

He cleared his throat awkwardly, reaching out to help steady the creature as it came onto his bed. In a matter of mere seconds it had hogged the whole thing up, curling awkwardly upon the blankets with its ears leaned back guiltily, its eyes lidded as it looked down at the floor. _"You're a very small race,"_ it said, managing to sound sad even through mental communication. God, Keith felt like an utter pile of garbage. 

"I guess we kinda are, huh?" he asked, reaching out to shyly stroke the creature's snout. It looked tired. Maybe that was because Keith was rubbing off on it, if the alien could influence him so easily. Maybe they had a two way street kind of thing going on, now. If that were the case, Keith just felt even worse at the idea. "So um, anyway," he started, looking to the floor for a distraction, "you're here now. What's your deal?"

The creature shifted, its gaze going to the side as it went quiet. Or well, it had already _been_ quiet. Keith noticed mostly the weight in his head easing back like a wave, like the creature had pulled out and refused to let him see or feel what it was thinking. It kind of pissed Keith off, considering it could just do it willy nilly while he had to deal with it, but in the end, he wasn't exactly something from the paranormal. Still...

"Hey, I thought that's how you talked. You can't just follow me home and go quiet on me, here. I need something." He crossed his arms over his chest, turning to look back at the creature. Its eyes were closed, the skin between them wrinkled as though it were thinking, or displeased about something. Its entire body looked like it had gone limp, and for a moment, Keith feared it had died. 

_"I was being chased,"_ it finally said after a moment, its eyes opening just barely, the soft glow sticking out against the dim lighting of the room. _"I showed them to you. I escaped and came here, and now in a sense, I am stuck. I just hope I ran far away enough so that they won't find me."_ It sighed, its chest heaving, the noise it made long, deep, and sad. Keith swallowed hard, reaching out to trace his fingers along the alien's snout in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. 

"I take it you're tired, then. That's fair man, so am I." His words were emphasized with a yawn, something he tried to stifle. His head hurt, and the motion just made it feel worse. He reached over the creature to grab a pillow, offering it a small smile as it watched his movements carefully. "You can hang out on the bed. I won't bother you. I just need a blanket, if you don't mind helping me out a bit..." 

The creature followed Keith's request and rolled to the side a bit, his eyes watching his hands as he tugged the blankets out to the side. He grabbed one for himself, saving the bigger one for the alien. He gently draped it over the creature, admittedly charmed at how it just barely stretched over the creature's form. If it curled up, though, it could fit underneath it just fine. 

Keith reclined back in his chair, kicking his boots off before he tucked himself underneath his own blanket. "I'll be right here, buddy. Don't disappear on me when we wake up, all right? If I wake up and this all turned out to be some weird, fucked up dream, I don't know what I would do with myself."

The alien just made a small noise of acknowledgement, tucking its nose underneath one of Keith's pillows. How or why it managed to stay there without being repulsed by the smell, Keith didn't know, but it was oddly adorable at the same time. Those claws were still very much a thing, and Keith had seen firsthand the look of the teeth it housed inside of that mouth. Yet here the creature sat before him, curled up into a tight ball, its nose tucked away underneath something like it was hiding. Like it was scared, really.

Keith couldn't begin to understand what it was going through, or what it even was, but he decided to just let it rest for the moment. Keith was tired, but he was sure he wasn't nearly tired as a crash landed alien upon his planet. If it didn't feel like explaining anything for now, he couldn't blame it. He pressed himself back against his chair, burying his own face in the extra pillow he'd managed to snatch. Despite his usual habits, he could feel himself sinking into the comforting abyss of sleep almost immediately. Maybe it was because the alien was there by him, but it had been the first night in some time when he'd managed to sleep so well. 

When he found himself waking up, it was four o'clock in the afternoon, and he was very much alone.


End file.
